EP3954000A1

EP3954000A1 - Earthed socket

Info

Publication number: EP3954000A1
Application number: EP20728757.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Wolfgang Görlich
Original assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Current assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Priority date: 2019-06-03
Filing date: 2020-05-27
Publication date: 2022-02-16
Also published as: WO2020245004A1; DE102019114886A1

Abstract

An earthed socket comprises a base and a socket housing into which a cover can be slidingly inserted. In order to fasten the socket housing to the base a screw fastening is provided.

Description

PROTECTIVE CONTACT SOCKET

The present invention relates to a protective contact socket (according to IEC60884), comprising a base with two spaced sockets, between which a central screw receptacle is arranged in the middle, and a socket pot with two guide grooves for a protective contact plug, the two guide grooves each formed by two parallel spaced projections are.

Such shockproof sockets are well known, the usual way on the socket pot projections which form the Führungsnu th for the safety plug, with their respective end faces by about 3 mm from the leading edge of the socket pot are spaced.

For aesthetic reasons and to protect the socket against contamination, it is known to provide a cover which can be pushed into the socket pot against the force of a spring element and which only has openings for the electrical contacts of the socket and the plug, but which otherwise has the socket pot flush with the leading edge of the socket pot closes. By inserting a safety plug into the socket, the cover can be pushed towards the bottom of the socket pot, the electrical plug contacts of the safety plug being able to be plugged into the sockets of the base through two openings in the cover. When the safety plug is pulled out of the socket, the cover is then pushed back by the force of the spring element until it is flush with the leading edge of the socket pot. It is the object of the present invention to create a protective contact socket of the type described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, inexpensive to assemble and easy to assemble.

This object is achieved by the features of claim 1 and, in the case of a protective contact socket of the type described above, in particular in that the cover has a mounting means axially aligned with the central screw receptacle in the plug-in direction, which allows the socket pot to be screwed to the base.

For earthed sockets that comply with the IEC60884 standard, a central screw baufnahme is provided between the two spaced sockets on the base, which is usually riveted into the base as a threaded sleeve. With the help of this screw receptacle, a single fastening screw, which is usually held in the area of the bottom of the socket pot, can be screwed to fasten the socket pot and a cover usually connected in one piece with it. After a mounting means axially aligned with this screw receptacle in the plugging direction is provided according to the invention, the socket pot can be screwed tight to the central screw receptacle despite the cover that can be pushed into the socket pot. This allows the installer to mount a safety socket in the usual way by first installing the base as usual, for example using a metal support frame connected to the base, whereupon the socket pot is screwed into the central screw receptacle with the aid of a fastening screw .

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the description, the drawing and the subclaims. According to a first advantageous embodiment, the assembly means can have an opening in the cover. Such an opening enables a screwdriver to be pushed through the cover, so that the fastening screw can be turned for mounting the socket pot. The opening can for example be selected so that a prescribed assembly tool, for example a Pozidriv screwdriver with a size index PZ1, can only be inserted through the opening with the screwdriver blade tip so that the screwdriver closes the cover at the same time against the force of the spring element when it is screwed in holding down.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the assembly means can have a thread-free screw insert which is arranged in particular on the rear of the cover. Such a screw insert can serve as a transmission element between a screwdriver and the fastening screw, the opening in the cover always being closed or covered by the screw insert. The screw bit has in such a case on its front an engagement profile for a screwdriver and on its back a handle profile for engagement with the fastening screw in the bottom of the Steckdo sentopfes, the screw bit freely rotatable either in the lid or attached to the back of the lid is.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the spring element can comprise two spaced-apart compression springs, which are each arranged in a sleeve molded onto the socket pot. In this way, the springs are not only protected and guided. Rather, by means of two spaced and guided compression springs, good parallel guidance of the cover within the socket pot is achieved at the same time, so that it does not tilt or tilt when it is pushed in. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the cover can have at least one pin for connection to the spring element. As a result, the cover with the pin can be easily inserted into the spring or springs, so that the cover can be held on the springs at the same time with a friction fit.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the cover can have two parallel holding and guide arms which extend perpendicularly to the cover and which hold the cover against the force of the spring element in its not inserted position. Such holding and guide arms serve, on the one hand, for uniform guidance of the cover within the socket pot. On the other hand, such guide arms can be used as holding means to keep the lid in the aligned position in the peripheral edge of the socket pot when no plug is inserted into the socket.

In conventional protective contact sockets, the four parallel spaced projections, which form the lateral guide grooves for the protective contact plug, are usually integrally connected to the socket pot. According to a further advantageous embodiment, these projections can, however, be formed by a separate component which is displaceably superimposed on the socket pot. In this way, it is possible to move the projections with their front end to the outer peripheral edge of the socket pot, so that when the cover is not inserted inside the socket pot - apart from the openings required for electrical contacts - a closed surface appears. In order to meet the electrical requirements, however, when the plug is inserted, there must be a distance of about 3 mm between the outer peripheral edge of the socket pot and the front faces of the projections which are spaced apart in parallel. However, since these are movably mounted on the socket pot in the embodiment described, this requirement can be met. If, in the embodiment described above, all four parallel spaced projections are formed by a single separate component, not only a few components are required, but the protective contact socket can also be assembled quickly and easily before assembly.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, a manually detachable insert can be provided in the socket pot, which insert has a central mounting opening for the passage of a screwdriver and which fixes the cover in the inserted state. Such an insert can serve as an assembly aid for the installer, as this allows the cover to be fixed in the pushed-in position when the socket top is screwed, so that the installer does not have to apply any force when pressing the cover down. After assembly, the insert can be released manually from the socket pot, for example by pressing two actuating flanks of the insert together so that it is released from the socket pot.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the lid can be provided with a closure, in particular with a closure flap, in order to cover or close the central assembly means. Such a closure flap can be hinged to the lid, for example, by a film hinge or the like.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, a rotatable contact protection can be arranged on the cover or on the base. Such a protection against accidental contact (child safety) can be rotated by inserting a plug, which releases the sockets. After pulling out the plug, however, the contact protection swivels back into its starting position, so that inadvertent insertion of objects into the sockets is prevented. The present invention is described below, purely by way of example, using various embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it:

1 and 2 exploded views of a first embodiment of a

Shockproof socket;

3 shows a sectional view through a safety socket with a manually detachable insert;

4 shows an exploded view of a further embodiment of a protective contact socket;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged exploded view of the lid and the

Contact protection of the embodiment of FIG. 4; and

FIGS. 6 to 9 show sectional views through the embodiment of FIG. 4 with the cover pushed in at different distances.

Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of a first embodiment of a protective contact socket, which comprises a base 10, in which two electrically lei tend connection contacts with two sockets 12 and 14 are inserted, which are spaced apart in the base. The base 10 is connected in a basically known manner to a support frame 16 made of metal and a grounding contact 18 is inserted into the base 10. To attach the ground contact 18 to the base 10, a threaded sleeve 20 is used, which attaches the ground contact 18 to the base 10 via a riveted joint. The threaded sleeve 20 thus represents a central screw receptacle which is arranged centrally between the two sockets 12 and 14 in the base and which serves to accommodate a fastening screw 22 (Fig. 2) with which a socket pot 24 (Fig. 2) with the Base 10 is screwed.

Fig. 2 shows that the socket pot 24 is connected in a manner known per se to a piece with a cover 26, which connects flush and at right angles to the upper peripheral edge 28 of the socket pot 24. However, the surface of the cover 26 does not have to be flat, but can also be curved or formed in some other way.

To attach the protective contact socket described above, the se is mounted in the usual way by the support frame 16 is attached with the help of screws or claws to a wall or a mounting opening, whereupon the unit of socket pot 24 and cover 26 is placed on the base 10. Here, the cover 26 is previously set in a decorative frame 30. Subsequently, the fastening screw 22 is inserted through an opening in the Bo to the socket pot 24 and with the central screw acquisition 20 screwed.

As FIG. 1 also shows, a rotatable contact protection 32 is provided in the area of the base above the sockets 12 and 14, which is rotatably mounted in a fold 34. The contact protection 32 made of insulated plastic can be rotated against the force of a spring 36 when a plug is inserted into the sockets 12 and 14 and, after pulling out the plug, swivels back into its starting position in which the sockets 12 and 14 are covered to the outside are.

FIG. 2 shows that in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, a cover 40 that can be pushed into the socket pot 24 is provided. This lid can by a safety plug when inserted against the force of two springs 41 and 42 to the bottom of the socket pot 24, the two contact pins of the plug being pushed through two openings in the cover 40. When the plug is pulled out, the cover 40 is then pushed back by the springs into its starting position, in which the cover 40 is flush with the outer peripheral edge 28 of the socket pot 24.

The outer contour of the lid 40 is designed so that it can be pushed into the socket pot with little play, with two lateral projections 43 and 45 on the outer edge of the lid 40 sliding in guide grooves for the protective con tact plug. In the exemplary embodiment shown, these guide grooves 46 and 48 are each provided by two parallel spaced apart projections 50a,

50b and 52a, 52b formed, which are formed together with a frame 54 as a one-piece component. This allows the projections 50a to 52b within half of the socket pot 24 to move in and against the insertion direction, so that the end faces of the projections are flush with the cover 40 when the plug is not inserted, and the prescribed distance of about 3 mm when the plug is inserted have. This function is explained in more detail with reference to the following embodiments.

Fig. 2 also shows that the socket pot 24 is provided with two spaced apart sleeves 54 and 56, the NEN for receiving the two compression springs 41 and 42, which act on the cover against the insertion direction with force. In order to keep the cover 40 in its desired normal position, in which it is aligned with the outer peripheral edge 28 of the socket pot 24, the cover 40 has two parallel holding and guide arms 58 and 60 which protrude perpendicularly from the back of the cover 40 and which in the area of the projections 43 and 45 are attached. The lower ends of the guide arms 58 and 60 are provided with an integrally formed hook 62 and 64, which the lid 40 in its desired The normal position holds if no plug is plugged into the socket outlet. Finally, FIG. 2 shows one of two pins 66, which also protrude at right angles from the rear of the cover 40 to the rear, and which are inserted into the springs 41 and 42.

In order to enable the socket pot 24 to be mounted on the central screw receptacle 20, the cover 40 in the illustrated embodiment is provided with a mounting means which is axially aligned with the screw receptacle 20 in the plug-in direction in the assembled state, i. E. is arranged coaxially to the screw receptacle 20, and which enables a screw fastening of the socket pot 24 to the base 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the assembly means comprises an opening 68 provided in the center of the cover 40 for the passage of a screwdriver tip in order to screw the screw 22 into the screw receptacle 20.

4 and 5 show a further embodiment of a protective contact socket, the same reference numerals being used in the following description for the same elements. Elements that have already been described are also not described again separately, provided that they are of the same design in the respective embodiments.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 differs from the embodiment described above essentially by a different decoration of the contact protection 32 (namely on the underside of the cover 40) and by a slightly different design of the jumps forming the guide grooves.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, the contact protection 32 is housed in a housing 34 'which can be attached to the underside of the cover 40. In this housing 34 'is as a further mounting means for a Screw fastening of the socket pot 24 to the base 10, a thread-free screw insert 70 rotatably received. This screw bit can be rotated by a screwdriver that has been inserted through the opening 68 in the cover 40. When the screw insert 70 is rotated and the lid 40 is pressed down to the bottom of the socket outlet 24, the screw insert 70 can engage in the fastening screw 22 and thus fix it in the screw receptacle. If no plug is plugged into this protective contact socket and the lid 40 is in its position covering the socket pot 24, the opening 68 in the lid 40 is also covered by the screw insert 70 located behind the opening 68.

The four parallel spaced projections 50a, 50b and 52a, 52b are not formed in this embodiment by a separate component but by two separate components 55 'and 55 "which are arranged to be displaceable on both sides of the socket pot 24. The components 55' and 55 ″ each have a web on their underside in order to lock these components when they move against the insertion direction in such a way that their front end faces are flush with the outer peripheral edge 28 of the socket pot 24. With egg nem insertion of a plug, however, these components can be pressed by the neces sary distance of about 3 mm towards the bottom of the socket pot 24 to produce the desired and required distance.

3 shows such a state, which, however, is not brought about by an inserted plug but, in this embodiment variant, by an insert 80 which has two arms 82 with which the insert can be clamped between the cover 40 and the socket pot 24. The insert has a central mounting opening 84 for the passage of a screwdriver and can be released manually by pressing actuation flanks 86 and 88 with two fingers against a film hinge. With the aid of the insert 80, the cover 40 can thus be fixed in the inserted position shown, so that the fitter can insert a screwdriver through the mounting opening 84 in order to turn the screw bit 70 and thus the fastening screw 22. After assembly has been completed, the two actuating flanks 86 and 88 must be pressed so that the insert 80 can be removed from the socket outlet 24, whereupon the lid 40 is pushed back into its normal position by the springs 42 and 44, in which it is with the outer peripheral edge 28 of the socket pot 24 is aligned.

FIGS. 6 to 9 show the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 with the cover 40 pushed in at different depths.

In the illustration of Fig. 6, the lid 40 is in its normal position and curse tet with the outer peripheral edge 28 of the socket pot 24 or with the upper surface of the cover 26, which is received in the decorative frame 30. Die Verdosenkopfes 24 bzw. The cover 40 is held in this position against the force of the springs 42 and 44 by the holding and guide arms 58, 60, which strike with their lower flakes 62 and 64 on the components 55 'and 55 ".

If a safety plug is plugged into the safety socket shown, then (see. Fig. 7 and Fig. 8) first move the cover 40 and the projections 50a to 52b in the direction of the bottom of the socket pot 24, the entrainment of the movable projections with the Lid 40 can be produced for example by frictional engagement. When the cover 40 has then reached its fully pushed-in position (FIG. 9), the lower webs of the projections 50a to 52b ensure that the latter are moved by the cover 40 into their position shown in FIG. 9, in which they the have the required distance to the outer peripheral edge 28.

Claims

Expectations

1. Protective contact socket, comprising

a base (10) with two spaced sockets (12, 14), between which a central screw receptacle (20) is arranged in the middle, and egg NEN socket pot (24) with two guide grooves (46, 48) for a protective contact plug, each through two parallel spaced apart projections (50a, 50b; 52a, 52b) are formed, wherein

a cover (40) which can be pushed into the socket pot (24) against the force of a spring element and a cover (40) which is axially aligned with the screw receptacle (20) in the plug-in direction and has a screw fastening of the socket pot (24) is provided ) on the base (10).

2. Safety socket according to claim 1,

wherein the mounting means has an opening (68) in the lid.

3. Safety socket according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein the assembly means has a thread-free screw insert (70) which is arranged in particular on the rear of the cover.

4. Protective contact socket according to one of the preceding claims,

wherein the spring element comprises two spaced-apart compression springs (41, 42) which are each arranged in a sleeve (54, 56) molded onto the socket pot (24).

5. Protective contact socket according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cover (40) has at least one pin (66) for connection to the spring element (41, 42).

6. Protective contact socket according to one of the preceding claims,

wherein the cover (40) has two parallel holding and guide arms (58, 60) which extend perpendicular to the cover (40) and which do not counter the force of the spring element (42, 44) with the cover (40) hold a pushed position.

7. Protective contact socket according to one of the preceding claims,

two or four of the parallel spaced projections (50a-52b) being formed by a separate component (55, 55 ', 55 ") which is slidably mounted on the socket pot (24).

8. Protective contact socket according to one of the preceding claims,

wherein in the socket pot (24) a manually detachable insert (80) is provided, which has a central mounting opening (84) for the passage of a screwdriver, and which fixes the cover (40) in the inserted state.

9. Protective contact socket according to one of the preceding claims,

wherein the lid (40) has a closure, in particular a closure flap, in order to cover or close the assembly means (68, 70).

10. Earthing contact socket according to one of the preceding claims,

wherein a rotatable Be contact protection (32) is arranged on the cover (40) or on the base (10).